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- Pete
- New Jersey
- Since my first trip to Gettysburg as a young boy, I've been captivated by History. I get it from my mom. Although she passed away when I was just 13, she still had an influence on me. All our family vacations were stitched around some historical site. So, history geeks are in my blood. I'm a graphic designer by profession and a semi-amateur painter. I love to explore history through my paintbrush. I've also done living history to get a first hand feel for "what it was like". Looking at history through the eyes of the common man (or woman) and understanding the personal, human drama is really the spice that flavors the historical stew!
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Friday, December 14, 2007
Say it ain't so....(fill in the blank)
Well, Major League Baseball certainly took one on the chin yesterday. We all knew that steriods had invaded America's national pastime, but now we have the proof. The island of denial just got hit by a hurricane....Hurricane Mitchell.
When something like this happens, we history geeks long for those innocent, nostalgic days of yore. When ballplayers, like the one in this little oil painting I did recently, played for the love of the game and everyday fans could still afford a ticket to the ballpark. Ah, the good old days.
Or not. Most of us are familiar with, or at least heard of the famous 1919 Blacksox Scandal. Members of the Chicago Whitesox conspired to throw the World Series. No one went to jail, but some of the players were permanently banned from the game. Not so good. To make matters worse, there were suspicions of foul play (pun?) in the previous two World Series as well. In fact, the problem of players throwing games on the influence of sports betting goes back as far as 1877 and the St. Louis Grays.
Even though Judge "Kennesaw Mountain" Landis (great name by the way) effectively put an end to the problem of thrown games, Pete Rose demonstrated that betting was still a plague. It doesn't end there either. There have been alcohol and drug problems (1970 Pittsburg Pirates), corked bats, the Pine Tar incident, scuff and spit balls, Ty Cobb's sharped spikes....list goes on and on. One wonders if there ever was a truely innocent time in the history of the game. Perhaps not. However, if you still have a yearning for some refreshing, throwback baseball, I have a idea for you.
Ever heard of the Vintage Baseball Federation? These guys are serious baseball reenactors. They wear the old uniforms and equipment, play by the old rules and even have their own World Series. These aren't a bunch of fat old guys goofing around at the county fair. They are legitimate ball players who love the game the way it used to be played. Their stock and trade is what we call "small ball" today, and "hit 'em where they ain't" was good advice. It wasn't until Babe Ruth that the long ball became important. I encourage you to check out the rules and strategy section to see how much the game has changed. I know I can't wait to check out a game this summer.
If you're a history geek and a baseball fan you should too. Ten buck says you're going to love it!
Monday, December 3, 2007
History, Mystery, and Local Lore
First off, thanks to those of you who checked out, watched or bid on my ebay auction for the benefit of the Artist Preservation Group. While it wasn't exactly a monetary triumph, I think we generated a little PR for the group.
Sometimes the most intriguing history is right there, swirling around you, and you don't even know it. In the process of doing some research for a magazine article I intend to write, I uncovered a bit of a mystery in my own back yard. It started with an historic building near my hometown in New Jersey which I pass by many times a week.
Though the building is now run as a museum, I've haven't been in it since my cub scout troop took a tour. I won't mention specific numbers but that was a few moons ago, ok? One thing I did remember about that tour was that the home operated as a tavern during the American Revolution. Local lore said that at some point, local Tories (or Loyalists) fiercely attacked some Continental soldiers from Virginia who were stationed there and killed a number of them. Some of their blood, so the story goes, still stains the stairs of the tavern. Sounds a little like Hollywood, doesn't it? I wanted to base my article on the facts surrounding that incident. Turns out, the facts are even more interesting.
Once I knew the name of the owner of the tavern at the time of the incident, it was easy to find out that he had originally come from Rhode Island. My search also turned up the description to antique auction item apparently connected to the man's father. It was a piece counterfeit Rhode Island currency. Dear old dad was accused, tried and convicted of counterfeiting! Hmmmm. No wonder he left the state! Counterfeiting was a serious crime in those days.
Next I wanted to find out the date of the massacre. I located a list of all the actions that took place in New Jersey during the war and narrowed it down to a specific date in 1780. Then I started checking out the skirmishes that happened in the area around that time. About a month and a half earlier, there was a raid on a Tory camp(or Refugee camp as it was known then). That raid was led by a Captain in the Continental line who, my research showed, was from Virginia. Ah ha! Not only that, the result of that raid was a sizable sum of counterfeit currency! Total geek moment!
For a little added spice, the likely leader of the raid on the tavern was a famous, or infamous, Tory who was an escaped slave and led a band of black soldiers still loyal to King George. His owner had lived in the same town where the tavern is so the escaped-slave-turned-partisan knew the area well. And, the tavern keeper had family who were soldiers; The father was in the Loyalist ranks and the son served in the Patriot cause.
Was the raid on the tavern perpetrated in reprisal for the captured counterfeit currency? Was the tavern keeper engaged in financial warfare? Which side was he on? How much did the ex-slave know? Was that Virginia captain at the tavern the night of the massacre? Is it all just coincidence?
I will dig some more but I may never know all the answers. But, that's half the fun isn't it?
If you have some local lore you'd like to share here, please send me your story! I'd be happy to post your article.
Sometimes the most intriguing history is right there, swirling around you, and you don't even know it. In the process of doing some research for a magazine article I intend to write, I uncovered a bit of a mystery in my own back yard. It started with an historic building near my hometown in New Jersey which I pass by many times a week.
Though the building is now run as a museum, I've haven't been in it since my cub scout troop took a tour. I won't mention specific numbers but that was a few moons ago, ok? One thing I did remember about that tour was that the home operated as a tavern during the American Revolution. Local lore said that at some point, local Tories (or Loyalists) fiercely attacked some Continental soldiers from Virginia who were stationed there and killed a number of them. Some of their blood, so the story goes, still stains the stairs of the tavern. Sounds a little like Hollywood, doesn't it? I wanted to base my article on the facts surrounding that incident. Turns out, the facts are even more interesting.
Once I knew the name of the owner of the tavern at the time of the incident, it was easy to find out that he had originally come from Rhode Island. My search also turned up the description to antique auction item apparently connected to the man's father. It was a piece counterfeit Rhode Island currency. Dear old dad was accused, tried and convicted of counterfeiting! Hmmmm. No wonder he left the state! Counterfeiting was a serious crime in those days.
Next I wanted to find out the date of the massacre. I located a list of all the actions that took place in New Jersey during the war and narrowed it down to a specific date in 1780. Then I started checking out the skirmishes that happened in the area around that time. About a month and a half earlier, there was a raid on a Tory camp(or Refugee camp as it was known then). That raid was led by a Captain in the Continental line who, my research showed, was from Virginia. Ah ha! Not only that, the result of that raid was a sizable sum of counterfeit currency! Total geek moment!
For a little added spice, the likely leader of the raid on the tavern was a famous, or infamous, Tory who was an escaped slave and led a band of black soldiers still loyal to King George. His owner had lived in the same town where the tavern is so the escaped-slave-turned-partisan knew the area well. And, the tavern keeper had family who were soldiers; The father was in the Loyalist ranks and the son served in the Patriot cause.
Was the raid on the tavern perpetrated in reprisal for the captured counterfeit currency? Was the tavern keeper engaged in financial warfare? Which side was he on? How much did the ex-slave know? Was that Virginia captain at the tavern the night of the massacre? Is it all just coincidence?
I will dig some more but I may never know all the answers. But, that's half the fun isn't it?
If you have some local lore you'd like to share here, please send me your story! I'd be happy to post your article.
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